Best Custom ROM for Nexus 5 D821

This is an end to end guide on flashing a Custom ROM on your Nexus 5 with list of best Custom ROM for Nexus 5. Please note, it is necessary to root your Nexus 5 to flash a Custom ROM. Follow this step by step guide to root Nexus 5.

Here we list out the best Custom ROM for Nexus 5 D821. Please note Tech Race is not responsible if your device gets damaged or bricked in the flashing process. Following are the general steps to flash a Custom ROM on Nexus 5:

Download the ROM zip

Copy it on your SD Card

Enter CWM Recovery ( by pressing volume up+ home key + power )

Select “Wipe data/factory reset”

Select “Wipe Cache partition”

Select “Wipe Dalvik Cache”

Select “Install Zip from SD Card” and choose the ROM zip file which you had downloaded.

Wait till the process completes. After completion, your device will reboot and will optimize your apps. Note that it will take some time.

1. LiquidSmooth ROM

LiquidSmooth ROM is based on Android Open Source Project. LiquidSmooth ROM provides good amount of features and customization. Here’s a list of features you will get with this Custom ROM for Nexus 5 –

AOKP system animation control

Long click option for quick settings

Lock Clock options in settings

OmniRoms Performance Control

App Circle Sidebar

Gesture Anywhere

Gesture unlock

Battery icon options

Custom toast animations

CM’s Privacy Guard

Dark UI

Status bar clock customization

Status bar brightness control

Double tap status bar to control sleep

Custom lock screen shortcuts

Navigation bar height control

You can check screenshots of Nexus 5 running LiquidSmooth ROM below

You can download the LiquidSmooth Custom ROM from here or view the XDA Forum thread.

2. Elix-R

As the tagline of this ROM says “Simplicity At It’s Best”, it is dead simple and fast! Developer Zyxxiel focused on stability, simplicity and speed rather than packing all the features. It includes all the features of Paranoid Android, but there are no apps that bloat or slow down your Nexus 5.

Here’s a list of features Elix-R ROM comes with-

Flat UI

Full Gapps (Don’t flash gapps)

Themed KitKat Style (All White)

New UI Sound

Smooth Scrolling Hack

Roboto Condensed Font

Perfect harmony between performance and battery life

Killed Useless Battery Hogging Services

All Rotations

In addition, the developer has been regularly updating the ROM with new features and bug fixes. You can download the Elix-R ROM for Nexus 5 here and check the XDA Forum thread.

3. Cataclysm ROM

Cataclysm ROM for Nexus 5 is written from scratch. It is the most bug free app with stability. This Custom ROM for Nexus 5 comes with Gapps package so there is no need to flash any additional files. It is a stock Android theme and has additional features disabled by default. You can enable them as you require. If you are on KitKat ROM currently then flash Google Factory Images first to avoid storage issues.

Here’s a video review of this ROM from AndroidRootz

You can view the video above to get a feel of how Cataclysm ROM works. You can download the ROM from here or view the XDA Forum.

4. Graviton ROM

Graviton ROM for Nexus 5 is based on AOSP 4.4.4 with stock kernel. It is rooted, deodexed ROM and comes with host of customization options and features. Here’s a list of features this Custom ROM for Nexus 5 comes with –

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